Brief synopsis:
John's been in space too long, and needs some... space. He blasts out of Moya in Farscape One, and goes for a spin, but Moya unintentionally starbursts away leaving John stranded. Months later, the crew catch up with Crichton, but things become complicated when the people on the planet John had made his home think Rygel is some kind of God.

The Main Story:
Not for the first time, Crichton and D'Argo are arguing, and eventually John has enough. Pushing past his crewmates, he heads for the cargo bay, steering clear of questions about his human nonsense. He reaches his pod and blasts into space. Unfortunately, Moya begins decompensating for the blockage John and D'Argo had been trying to remove, and this means Starburst. Moya shoots away leaving Crichton stranded and alone in only his module.

We join John again much later, when he has begun building a new home on a planet called Acquara. It is similar to earth, and seems to suit him well. During a hunt for food, a woman, Lishala comes to see John. She is a member of the local tribe of Acquarans, and one who is clearly fond of Crichton. She presents John with a map, and asks where his planet would be on that map. John throws a stone into the lake, showing just how far away Earth could be.

Rokon, a warrior from the tribe, comes to demand Lishala's presence, and John accompanies them. Meanwhile, Moya approaches yet another planet on the reverse of their starburst vector. Oddly it is Zhaan who seems most willing to quit, blaming John for what happened. D'Argo and Aeryn however have grown close to John, as an ally and a friend respectively, and they decide to continue the search.

Crichton talks with Lishala's father, the tribe leader, Kato-Re, who tells John that Lishala's heart goes his way, and that in their culture, the woman decides who her mate will be. Off in the distance, this greatly worries Rokon and his mother Neera who believe that it is they who should be ruling the tribe. Whilst this goes on, Rygel and D'Argo arrive, reporting to Moya that they have spotted John's module. However, their power is cut as they approach the planet, and they are only just able to land. They now seem to be stranded, and go in search of Crichton.

As John departs the village, he is ambushed by a group of warriors from the tribe. Fortunately D'Argo arrives in time to save him, but at first John is not grateful at all, thinking that D'Argo and the crew abandoned him all those weeks ago. D'Argo explains the truth however, patching things up between them. As the pair talk, Lishala comes to see them, and hears John's side of the story for D'Argo's attack on the warriors. She takes them back to the village, but they are ambushed once again.

Up in space, the girls are keeping busy, planning a way to help their crewmates on the planet. They don't want to risk another pod, so decide it may be best to somehow send down a shielded powersource. They know where to shoot it by using a topographic bioprint to pinpoint lifeforms. At the village, Crichton and co are held prisoner, and even though Kato-Re agrees it was probably not all their fault, he begins sentencing them to 10 years labour. However, Rygel awakens just in time, as the tribe begin to worship him as a God.

Rygel investigates the tribes sacred text, and learns that the Priesthood have been deceiving the tribe. They were originally brought here by Rygel X, but Rygel's stature has grown considerably to the status of God. He is expected to rise up and take his people to the light. When he admits he can't, the tribe revolt, taking him prisoner. John and D'Argo escape though, just in time to receive Aeryn's capsule containing a map to show the location of the power draining device.

Crichton goes back to help Rygel, with the new information. Rygel tells the tribe that the priests have lied, and whilst D'Argo fends off Rokon Crichton realises Rygel has to push his hands against the sacred stone, and this unleashes the power once more. Rygel is cleared, and he sets the people on a new path, one where they can choose their own destiny. The tribe now has power, and Rygel leaves Kato-Re to lead the people. John also has to leave Lishala behind, but in the safe hands of Rokon.

References and continuity:

Aeryn: "We're already down one transport pod, lets not make it two."

In the episode The Flax Aeryn and John lose a pod to a huge space net, the Flax. Aeryn would prefer not to risk another on the planet below.

There are references to Zhaan no longer being a priest. She "retired" for a while after the events of Rhapsody In Blue.

John: "Acuna Matata Masata."

John addresses Rygel, the Masata, with this greeting from the Lion King.

Funny or interesting quotes:

Crichton: "Oh God, I am a dead man."

When Moya starbursts away, John believes that his end has come, he no longer has a big ship to look after him.

Aeryn: "I can't believe this, but I need Crichton."

Aeryn struggles with the science behind the casing she is constructing to contain the maps she will send down to the planet, and realises she does in fact need John for something.

Episode Trivia:

It seems that the species John encounters have translator microbes already, as they understand D'Argo, Rygel and John perfectly. This suggests it is a trait bred into the species so that no injection is required.

John Ecclestone, the lead puppeteer for Rygel, makes a guest cameo appearence as one of the Acquaran tribe members.

Writer:

The writer of this episode, was Doug Heyes who also wrote the following:

Director:

The director of this episode was Ian Watson. He also went on to direct the following Farscape episodes:

New Aliens:

John meets up with a rather small tribe of people, perhaps even more primitive than he is. They are similar to American-Indian tribes from Earth's past, and are called the Acquarans.

Farewell to:

Moya for three months		John is left without Moya and crew for a full three months.
Old tribal rules		Thanks to Rygel's intervention, the tribe on the planet now have the use of power, machines and the ability to make their own rules.

Guest Stars:
Natalie Mendoza as Lishala. Kevin Copeland as Rokon. John O'Brien as Kato-Re. Deni Gordon as Neera.

Personal Opinion:

Its really good to see that problems on Moya can't just be discussed over cups of tea like in "some other shows". Instead, stress gets to the characters, and in this case, things can go badly wrong when that happens. It was great to see the crew go back for him though, showing how much they are beginning to unite.

The only problem with it all was that the population of the planet John visited didn't feel like they had been there for generations. It was as if they had been left there a few months before Crichton, rather than being a long standing tribe there. Apart from that, it was a fun episode, and it gave Rygel a taste of the past too.

	Its not just happy families in space.		6/10